A biased look at psychology in the world

March 18, 2007

The Hereditary Defective

In 1936 (other sources list the date as 1934), a 20-minute silent documentary film was first shown in Germany. Titled Erbkrank (loosely translated into English as The Hereditary Defective), it was presented as an educational film by the racial affairs branch of the Nazi Party. The point of the film was clear: due to "Jewish liberal thinking", a desperate state of affairs had come into existence in which mentally ill and physically disabled children and adults were being cared for in "palatial" hospitals by the cream of the German medical profession while hard-working German families were forced to live in dire poverty. The years following World War One had left the economy of post-war Germany in tatters and the message that resources that should have gone to helping the German people rebuild were being wasted on genetic defectives fell on receptive ears.

The film presented statistics showing an alarming increase in the number of mentally ill and defectives. Jews, Blacks, and other genetically inferior populations were accused of aggravating the problem by spreading their inferior genes on to the next generation. Film clips detailing the costs of caring for these patients and the upkeep of the mental institutions that housed them were also included. Criminals were part of the problem as well. All such inferior traits were obviously inherited and the notion that environment played a role was due to an "ignoring of natural law". The upshot of the film was to convey a simple message: Something must be done. It was an effective film in many ways and it's message spread far beyond Germany's borders. Advocates of eugenics in other countries showed it as well prior to the outbreak of World War Two.

Films such as Erbkrank were part of an orchestrated campaign designed to dehumanize the mentally ill and other "subhumans" and to pave the way for eliminating them altogether. Preventing defectives from passing on their destructive genes was deemed to be part of the natural law that ensured that only the strong should survive: Darwinian selection at it's finest. The message was heard and the way was made clear for what would follow. It would begin with sterilization, and then...